Ashwin, Yuvraj get top BCCI contract

Yuvraj Singh was named in the Grade 'A' of the central contracts announced by the BCCI for the year 2012/13. R Ashwin has also been promoted to the top group while Harbhajan Singh went one step down and got a Grade 'B' contract. Virat Kohli, who has been India's best batsman across all formats, was rewarded with a Grade A contract as well.

Skipper MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, opening pair Sehwag and Gambhir were among the others who bagged the top Grade.

Ishant Sharma, after his poor performances in the Test season last year, has been pushed down to Grade B, just like Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan has not played for India in Tests after the second Test in England last year and made a comeback to the shorter format in the T20 WC last month. Irfan Pathan, who was left out of the contracts list due to injuries last year, has been rewarded with a Grade B contract for his consistently good performances since his comeback.

The notable names missing out include Sreesanth (recovering from injury), Ambati Rayudu and Jayadev Unadkat.

The Grade A players will get Rs. 1 crore per year each, while the Grade B players will get Rs. 50 Lakh. The players in Grade C bracket will get Rs. 25 lakh each.